That's how Teddy Roosevelt used to describe his foreign policy, though perhaps the same could be said of Detroit Lions first-round pick Jarrad Davis. The linebacker speaks in confident, though measured tones. He's a leader, but by example. He's fiery, though it burns quietly in the aft.

When he's on the field, though, there's no ambiguity. The former Florida linebacker likes to hit, and damn it, he likes to hit hard.

"I love hitting," Davis said Friday after arriving at team headquarters. "I love striking people. I love just exerting force on another person. You can't do it in any other way. You can't do it on the street. You can't do it at anybody's house. You have to do it within the lines, within the paint.

"He's fast," Caldwell said. "I think the numbers speak for themselves. It's rare to see a guy with his size and bulk that can move like he moves. He's a guy that's versatile. Certainly going to be able to play three downs for us as well, fourth down if we happen to put him on special teams also because he's capable of that as well."

The numbers to which Caldwell alludes paints a destructive picture. At 6-foot-1 and 238 pounds, he's already pro sized. Yet he still jumped out of the gym at his pro day, going 38.5 inches in the vertical and 129 inches in the broad. Both would have topped all linebackers at the combine. And he did it mere weeks after recovering from an ankle injury.

He also ran the 40-yard dash in about 4.62 seconds (pro day times are unofficial), which would have placed fourth.

"He's a knock-back tackler, and we certainly are looking forward to him coming in," Caldwell said. "He's going to help us and help us immediately."

Caldwell also spoke of Davis' character, and glowed of his decision to turn down the party in Philadelphia so he could spend the draft with his parents. Then they flew together early Friday morning to Detroit to join his new team.

Davis credited his parents, John and Amy, for developing that hard-nosed toughness and arrow-straight character.

"At a young age, it was instilled, man," he said. "I was a hard-headed kid growing up. Everything wasn't peaches and cream my whole life, but at the same time it's nothing that a belt can't fix, and a little bit of yelling. It's nothing that can't get fixed by a little bit of leather, man.

"My mom, my dad, they took care of me at a young age. I learned which way was the right way to go and I knew if I went the other way the belt was coming. But if I went the right way then good things are going to come. That's how I attack things in life each and every day. If I do the hard thing now, later on I'm going to reap the benefits."

Thursday, such a day arrived.

Davis woke up in Jacksonville, Fla., knowing he would probably be taken in the first round of the NFL draft. But he didn't know where, and he was nervous. He gave his mother, grandmother and grandfather a kiss, then called his father. He passed the time by getting his hair cut, by hanging out with his boys.

They walked around under the Florida sun, trying to burn off some nerves. He lounged by the pool with his parents. And then around 5:30 p.m., they headed to a sports bar they rented out to watch the draft.

"It got to the point where there were like 9 minutes left -- 9 minutes and 38 seconds left -- and I was like, 'This is the longest 9 minutes and 38 seconds of my life,'" Davis said. "But the draft started, and we had a great time, man."

They didn't have to wait long for Bob Quinn to call with the news. Detroit would take him 21st overall. He would be a Lion -- and if all goes according to plan, he'll be a Day 1 starter in the NFL.

The Lions either don't know where Davis will play, or aren't saying. But he played on the weak side in college, as well as the middle, and could vie at either spot in Detroit. With DeAndre Levy out, Tahir Whitehead is the only full-time starter who returns.